Who knows something about smart TVs?

My wife and I finally broke down and bought a new TV, replacing the big tube thing we'd had for more than 15 years. We got a Samsung NU1701D, a 58" flast screen that plays nice with the internet.

But to our dismay, we could not watch Titans on the big screen. When I try to watch on dcuniverse.com on the Internet connection, it defaults to a screen that wants me to download another browser. The choices were Firefox, Chrome or Safari, but it didn't matter, because when I tried each one, it said the function wasn't supported.

Going to "Source," there's a place where you can download apps -- but only pre-loaded apps. Naturally, DC Universe wasn't one of them. And Google Play was on offer, but it didn't have the DCU app either.

I went online, and found that the service is listed as available on IOS (I have the app on my iPad), Android, Roku, Apple TV and Android TV. Evidently, none of those are what runs my TV, and none are available in apps.

So, do I need to buy some sort of supplemental device to download and play the DCU app? If so, I have no idea where to begin on such an adventure.

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I bought a Vizio DVD player and later a Vizio TV years ago with the built-in apps (mainly Netflix), which was similar to a Smart TV (it didn't listen for commands). I had broadband but the images on the shows were freezing. I paid for a higher level of broadband, which involved a more powerful broadband modem (from my cable company). The broadband worked fine for the computers but wouldn't work with the TV directly. Not having unlimited patience, I bought a Roku device, which installed with no fuss, and was in good shape for Netflix and many other streaming services. Roku also added services that became automatically available after I bought it, including YouTube. I tend to watch anything that is on YouTube on our 46 inch TV, which is not a smart TV. I see that DC Universe is now available on Roku and Apple TV devices. I haven't used Apple TV (a plug-in device like Roku), but this might make more sense for you if you are used to Apple devices. I know that if you buy a Roku you don't have to pay Roku anything after that. Not sure about Apple TV. I am on my second Roku device. They last for years, like computers, but don't last forever.

You plug the box into a HDMI* port on your TV and also into an electrical outlet. The "streaming stick" version may or may not need separate electrical outlet. You will likely need to use the remote that came with your TV to switch between inputs. When your TV is displaying the Roku screens you use the Roku remote to add and delete channels from your list (Amazon, Netflix, etc). Setup has to occur before this, but is extremely user-friendly.

*If you're not using them yet, HDMI cables send uncompressed input to digital TVs from cable, etc. If you are still using RGB/RWY inputs, they compress the signal and then have to uncompress it, which can increase the likelihood of pixilation. Roku will only use HDMI ports. I recommend using them for your other TV inputs. HDMI cables are usually cheap to buy.

My TV has three HDMI ports, and I'm using two. Which raises another question:

I'm using those HDMI ports for U-Verse (cable) and the DVR. But should I be using HDMI for cable? Should I be using a coaxial cable from the cable box instead? (There is a coaxial port.) That would open up an HDMI port for something else, like the VHS machine, which I imagine I will still use someday, because it's the only way I can show my niece Excalibur.

Their coaxial cable from the cable box is also an uncompressed signal, so there is nothing to be gained from hooking it to the HDMI port. I assume you or your cable company have adjusted your cable box to receive digital and not analog signals. One of my wife's cousins was still watching grainy analog until I called it to his attention.

I gather that you're not a fan of DVDs. Most BluRay players will "upconvert" regular DVD signals so that they look clean and almost as good as BluRay on high resolution TVs. You actually have a VCR that has a HDMI port? I'm surprised. I thought those two technologies missed each other. Because the analog signal from the VCR has much less resolution you will find that it looks horrible on a high resolution TV. You may want to get a cheap BluRay player (I got one for $40) and a DVD of Excalibur, which should also be cheap.

Smart TVs have limitations, judging from our experience with our new 55" LG OLED TV. Gorgeous picture, and better sound than I've had from a TV before. But after getting it hooked up to our WiFi and connecting to the services it supports (which includes all of the main services, but I had to program a short cut to SlingTV, since it's not one of the buttons on the remote)--I still connected our Roku streaming stick to get apps like the CW and Comet, even though I don't use them that often. And yes, I do have to use the Roku remote when I'm using that connection.

I'm far from a stock person (very far) but this article seems to say that the Golden Goose called Roku had a bad day because it didn't lay as many golden eggs as expected. Their share prices apparently went down a whopping 9 cents apiece. I think they're doing just fine.

What I'm gathering about smart TVs is that they have preloaded apps for common connections (Netflix, Amazon) but do not have the memory or computing power of your average laptop (or would probably cost an extra $500 or so). So it can't download anything and you can't watch videos (unless they're on a preloaded app).

That's right, Cap. They can play videos from a flash drive or external drive, too, but you would probably need to download them on a computer. I say "probably" because my TV does have a web browser built in, but I haven't done anything with it. Oh, and you could also send programming from your computer directly to the TV from a computer via HDMI. My laptop has that capability, but I haven't used it.